Jerry Jones announces Jimmy Johnson will be inducted into Cowboys Ring of Honor
Leading up to the Dallas Cowboys’ 1 p.m. kick off against the Carolina Panthers, team owner and general manager Jerry Jones revealed to Jimmy Johnson, live on Fox Sports, that the former head coach will enter the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor on Dec. 30, 2023. The owner and coach have had a tenuous relationship since playing football at Arkansas and winning Super Bowls together but they’re friends once again and Johnson will finally have his name added to the ring around AT&T Stadium.
The announcement has been years in the making since Jones told Johnson during his Pro Football Hall of Fame week in 2021 that the honor would be coming his way “soon.”
Jones told reporters that they made the announcement in Carolina with Johnson’s crew from Fox because it’s the team’s last game on FOX this season. The broadcast crew heaped praise on the former skipper as the duo continued into a press conference with local media.
The Cowboys will host the Detroit Lions on Dec. 30 in AT&T Stadium. Johnson will receive his Ring of Honor jacket during a halftime ceremony. The former Dallas head coach led the Cowboys to Super Bowl wins in two of five seasons that he coached in DFW after Jones named him head coach in 1989.
Johnson did a lot for the Cowboys, taking a 1-15 team his first year at the helm and turning them into the NFL’s finest just three years later.
With the addition of defensive lineman DeMarcus Ware this year, 23 players as well as coaches and executives are enshrined into the Cowboys Ring of Honor.
Jones, Johnson finally patch up relationship
Johnson began his coaching career as an assistant at Louisiana Tech University in 1965. He was instrumental in recruiting the likes of Terry Bradshaw in his time in Ruston, Louisiana. In 1979, Johnson landed his first head coaching opportunity with Oklahoma State. In five years in Stillwater, Johnson went 29-25-3.
Johnson was then hired by Miami in 1984. He led the Hurricanes to their first undefeated regular season in school history in 1986. The following season, the Hurricanes won the national championship by defeating Oklahoma.
All in all, Johnson went 52-9 in his time at Miami. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012.
In 1989, Jimmy Johnson was hired by Jerry Jones to be the second head coach in Dallas Cowboys history, filling the shoes of the legendary Tom Landry, who had led the Cowboys since 1960.
Johnson led the Cowboys to a 44-36 record over five seasons. He won back-to-back Super Bowls in the 1992 and 1993 seasons. Near the end of his tenure, Johnson and Jones’ relationship fell apart. The two parties agreed to mutually split ways following the 1993 season.